Reamon lands coaching internship with Steelers, Tomlin

Forty years after the Pittsburgh Steelers drafted his father, Tommy Reamon Jr. has joined the team as a coaching intern, an opportunity steeped in his Hampton Roads roots.

Reamon played at Gloucester High and Old Dominion before spending the last two seasons at the University of Virginia, first as a volunteer, then as a graduate assistant coach. His father, Tommy Sr., is the head coach at Virginia Beach's Landstown High and previously led teams at Gloucester, Warwick and Ferguson, the latter two in his native Newport News.

"The more I thought about it, the more it started to make sense," Reamon said of a coaching career. "My dad's been a coach my entire life. For 25 years, that's all I've known. … I feel at home now, that this is my calling. That's what Coach Tomlin told me one time, 'I'm just doing what I'm called to do. This could be your calling too.' And I totally agree with him."

Mike Tomlin has coached the Steelers to two Super Bowls, winning one, and like the Reamons, he hails from Newport News, where he graduated from Denbigh High before matriculating at William and Mary.

"He always tells the story of how he couldn't afford (expensive) camps growing up and the only camp he could go to … was my dad's," Reamon said of Tomlin. "He holds that story close to his heart. It's all about relationships."

Relationships also landed Reamon at U.Va., where he worked under head coach Mike London and receivers coach Marques Hagans, both of whom played in the Peninsula District, London at Bethel, Hagans at Hampton.

"It's always great when you land with people who care about you and it's not just a business relationship," Reamon said. "They know (my) history. They know my family. They know me. They've seen me grow over the years. … With them, it's personal. …

"My last two years at U.Va. have been great. Coach London took me in fresh out of ODU when I was done playing. Working with Coach Hagans, I grew up watching him, so to be right under his wing coaching wide receivers was like a dream come true. I idolized him."

Reamon joins the Steelers as part of the NFL's Bill Walsh Minority Coaching Fellowship program, named for the Hall of Fame coach who guided the San Francisco 49ers to three Super Bowl championships. He participated in Pittsburgh's offseason organized team activities (OTAs) and mini-camp, and traveled Thursday to Pennsylvania for the opening of training camp.

During camp, Reamon will work primarily with receivers, and come the regular season he also will assist the Steelers' quality control and pro personnel staffs. Reamon said receivers coach Richard Mann assigned him to monitor rookie Martavis Bryant, a fourth-round draft choice from Clemson.

"It's all about working hard," Reamon said, "keeping them happy, keeping them proud and not letting them down for giving you the opportunity. OTAs and mini-camp (were) amazing. Some days I was out there, and I still can't believe it, standing behind (quarterback) Big Ben (Roethlisberger) watching him work."

Reamon understands that he's there to listen, learn and spare full-time coaches menial tasks such as editing practice video and photo-copying game plans.

"It's sun-up to sundown," he said. "When I first got to U.Va., I'd come in at 6 a.m. and sometimes I wouldn't be leaving until midnight during camp. And to wake up and do it all again. Sleeping under the desk some nights. It was rough on the body, but I would do it for free if I had to."

Reamon's father beams at his son's Steelers association. Pittsburgh selected Tommy Sr., a running back from the University of Missouri, in the ninth round of the 1974 draft. That draft class famously included linebacker Jack Lambert, center Mike Webster and receivers Lynn Swann and John Stallworth, a group that earned enshrinement in the Pro Football Hall of Fame and helped the Steelers win four Super Bowls.

The older Reamon did not play for Pittsburgh but good-naturedly clings to his association with one of the most renowned draft classes in history.

"And now for me to have my first opportunity with the Pittsburgh Steelers," Reamon said, "I couldn't be in a better place, with a better organization, a better franchise."